TOPIC: The H1B Hullabaloo

Although India hasn’t officially threatened to yank the U.S. to the WTO yet, in what could probably be a first step in the direction; India has sent non-papers to the U.S. indicating that the recent H1B and L1 visa fee hike as well as the supplementary import taxes levied on government purchases, breach the norms of WTO.
Having cleared their stance on the two issues, India now eagerly awaits the U.S. response.

Although India hasn’t officially threatened to yank the U.S. to the WTO yet, in what could probably be a first step in the direction; India has sent non-papers to the U.S. indicating that the recent H1B and L1 visa fee hike as well as the supplementary import taxes levied on government purchases, breach the norms of WTO.
Having cleared their stance on the two issues, India now eagerly awaits the U.S. response.

India has submitted the informal written communications to top bureaucrats including U.S. under secretary of commerce Francisco Sanchez who is scheduled to visit India in Sept. 2011. Let’s hope the authorities are able to resolve the issue earlier, before his impending trip to New Delhi.

I commend the step taken by India. It’s about time the government takes a resolute stand on the issue and gets some concrete results. The rise in H1B and L1 visa fees which will remain in force till 2015 will greatly affect Indian IT cos., dealing them an annual blow of $200 million.

As per a report of the National Foundation for American Policy in Washington, raising the H1B and L1 visa fees to such exorbitant levels could very well be considered a violation of U.S. obligations under GATS.

India has to file a case against the US, in order to establish that it has been wronged against. In my opinion India can safely proceed to file a case against the US, as there are bright chances of India emerging triumphant.